The Lion and The Snake
by DaRoma
Summary: The newly formed Black family is finally adjusting to their new life, but dark things are on the horizon for them. FredOC Side SiriusOC RemusTonks CharlieTonks HarryGinny AUish Yrs 4-7. Sequal to A Lion Among Snakes.
1. The Burrow

**Here it is! The Sequal to A Lion Among Snakes. I hope you all enjoy this one as much as you enjoyed its prequal!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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><p>Nikki was up, watching the Muggle Television in their new flat. Sometimes, she was so happy her mum had majored in Muggle Studies. Some muggle things were so entertaining, like televisions and computers and telephones, not that she really had a use for the latter since she never had a need to call anyone with a telephone but it was still cool. There was a creak on the floor behind her. She peeked over her shoulder and smiled at Harry.<p>

Her family was adjusting nicely to their new life. Nikki's mum and dad had to very quickly find a new home, since Nikki and Grace's flat was only two bedrooms. They had found a nice, four bedroom house in the London suburb that Harry had lived in with his Aunt and Uncle. There were more wizarding families living in the neighborhood than she was sure Vernon and Petunia Dursley wanted to know. Her father was starting to regain his health from being in Azkaban in 12 years, and Nikki had a bad feeling about the longing way her mum would looking at the only unpacked box in the flat, labeled _baby stuff_.

"Hey, Harry, what're you doing up so late?" she asked, patting the couch next to her. He walked over and sat next to her, rubbing the scar on his forehead.

"I woke up to my scar hurting," he said. "It normally doesn't happen unless Voldemort is near."

"Gimme a second," Nikki pulled out her wand, and waved it, mumbling the spell to check the wards on their house -actually some extended to the whole street- before looking at her god brother with a reassuring smile. She maybe only 16, but there were some spells under-aged wizards could use, such as a simple one to check the protective wards on a house. If the trace didn't allow that, then it would cause a lot of trouble. "The wards are safe, but you may wanna mention it to mum and dad in the morning."

"I was gonna go talk to them at first…but I thought about what I may walk in on," he smiled at her jokingly. "And I heard the TV going, so I figured you were up."

"You made a wise choice, young Harry," Nikki pulled her knees up to her chest, laying her head on them so she could still look at them. "Are you excited about the Quidditch Cup?" He nodded excitedly.

"I know the Weasleys got my ticket, but does Sirius have one?" asked Harry.

"I think mum's gonna give him hers. She doesn't like Quidditch, she just got the tickets because I _really_ wanted to go, and she figured this'll be the last chance for us to really do something together since I turn 17 during this school year," Nikki shrugged. Her mother seemed to be under the impression that Nikki would only come home from Hogwarts long enough to get her things before moving out. Nikki didn't plan on that. She would still have one year of Hogwarts left, and she may continue to mooch off her parents after that. She wasn't exactly sure what she wanted to do after school.

"You and your mum aren't very alike, are you?" Harry observed.

"Nope. She's always said I was my father's daughter." She reached over and ruffled her god brother's head. "Now, let's go to sleep, Harry. We're heading to the Burrow tomorrow!"

Nikki was up nice and early the next morning, though grudgingly. She was excited about getting to see Fred again, which was her motivation to actually get out of bed, but she didn't like being up early during break. She stumbled into the kitchen, grumbling a good morning to her mum, before collapsing on the table and awaking breakfast.

"Harry! Sirius!" Grace yelled, a little too loudly and a little too close to Nikki's ear. She had a feeling her mum had done it on purpose. Sirius and Harry stumbled in to the kitchen, both just as tired as she was.

"Morning, love," mumbled Sirius, kissing his wife's cheek before sitting at the table as well. Harry murmured an incoherent greeting, taking his seat next to Nikki.

"Oh, wake up and smell the coffee!" laughed Grace, setting a coffee pot on the spinny thing in the center of the table - what was it called again? - along with a platter of waffles and sausage and bacon. Nikki felt her mouth began to water as she began to loud up her plate. Gracie sat down and began eating as well. "So, are you three ready to go to the Weasleys' today?"

"Are you sure you wanna give me your ticket, Gracie?" asked Sirius, taking his wife's hand.

"I don't like Quidditch. I thought I'd get the end of it when you and James moved out…then I went and married you," Gracie reminded. "Plus, I think Harry and Nikki would rather you go than me."

"Well…dad isn't as paranoid as you, mum," declared Nikki, taking a bite of her waffle.

"I'm just happy to get to go with one of you," mumbled Harry.

"You're so cute and shy!" laughed Nikki, patting his back.

"How did you learned such nice manners being raised by those awful muggles?" wondered Gracie, smiling at her godson. Harry shrugged, eating his breakfast. The family ate their breakfasts, then Sirius, Nikki and Harry went to their respective rooms to finish getting ready. Nikki rummaged threw her closet, and grabbed and Slytherin jersey style shirt and some skinny jeans. She dressed -ending up on the other side of the room due to the damned skinny jeans dance - then styled her hair, and put on her typical make up. Rainbow hopped up on the dresser and nuzzled her face.

"You've gotta stay here with mum for a few days," she said, scratching the calico's head. Nikki grabbed her bag and walked into the living room to wait for Harry and Sirius. She had a feeling that the two of them had procrastinated on packing. Her suspicions where confirmed enough for her by the fact that it took them fifteen minutes longer than her to get ready, and she'd done her make up and hair.

"We're ready," Sirius walked in, a backpack slung over his shoulder. Nikki hopped up.

"Did you two not pack your things last night like mum and I told you?" she asked, putting hands on her hips.

"Possibly," answer Harry evasively.

"You're too much like your mum," declared Sirius.

"Is that a bad thing?" Gracie walked in, drying her hands. She kissed both Nikki and Harry on the cheeks. "Behave yourselves." She hugged Sirius and started mumbled romantic goodbyes. Nikki made a mock face of disgust towards Harry. Her god brother laughed.

"Like you and your little ginger boyfriend are any better, Nikolyn," reminded Sirius, giving his wife one last kiss before shooing Nikki and Harry towards the fireplace. Nikki happily grabbed a hand of floo powder, and floo-ed to the Burrow. Nikki stumbled into the kitchen of the Burrow and into a set of strong arms. She looked up and smiled sheepishly at the Weasley that had caught her.

Charlie smiled down at her. He'd dated her older cousin, Nymphadora Tonks, a few years before, so she'd meet him a couple of times. He was a nice enough guy, with the customary Weasley red hair and hazel eyes like Fred's. She noticed a few scars on him, which she assumed was from his job as a Dragon Tamer. "Wotcher, Charlie," she greeted, straightening up.

"When I got a letter from Tonks saying you were dating one of my brothers I didn't believe it!" laughed Charlie. "Its nice to see one of my brothers have good tastes."

"Are you flirting with my girlfriend, Charlie?" Nikki laughed and threw her arms around Fred's neck.

"Do you know how awkward that would be, Fred? Tonks introduced me to her when she was a first year," Charlie laughed, and turned to Harry. "You must be Harry Potter." Nikki tuned out the greetings after waving at the eldest Weasley, Bill, whom she'd only heard of.

"How have you been?" asked Fred, kissed her cheek.

"I've been good, missing you." Nikki reached up and played with his hair. "And my other boyfriend."

"I hope you've at least been missing me more," laughed Fred, kissing her head and letting her go. Nikki laughed and readjusted her bag. "Where am I staying?" she asked.

"In Ginny's room with her and Hermione," Fred shrugged. "I tried to convince mum that you'd be perfectly comfortable in me and George's room, but she said that was inappropriate."

"Which it is," declared her father, shooting Fred a watch it glare.

"Oh, daddy, you know you like him," Nikki declared, taking Fred's hand.

"I'll admit he's almost good enough for you, princess," Sirius smiled. "_Almost_."


	2. Extendable Ears

Mr. Weasley had them all up at the before dawn the next morning.

"Nikki, dear, will you go get the boys from upstairs for me, please?" she asked, trying to force her stubbornly tired daughter out of bed. Nikki grunted an okay, and walked upstairs tiredly. She walked up to the door label Forge and Gred, and opened it. She stumbled over to Fred's bed and fell on the bed next to him.

"Your mum says to get up," she murmured as he threw an arm over her. She snuggled in to his bare chest, laying a kiss on his pulse.

"I don't wanna…" he whispered, kissing the top of her head. "George, geddup!" Fred grabbed a pillow and tossed it at his twin.

"'M sleepin!" George grumbled loudly, rolling over and covering his head.

"Well, while you're sleeping, Nikki and I are gonna have a nice snog session," declared Fred, leaning down to kiss her neck. Nikki giggled characteristically, and leaned up to kiss her boyfriend.

"You two are disgusting!" George grumbling, getting up. Nikki pulled away from Fred.

"Will you get Ron and Harry for your mum?" George waved her off and walked out of the room. Nikki smiled at Fred. "I think he's warming up to me."

"He didn't flip you the bird. It's a start," Fred leaned down and kissed her nose, before getting up and going to rummage through his drawers. Nikki leaned back, resting her arms behind her head. Fred and George's room was small, with two of every set of furniture on either side of the room. Twin beds with Chudley Cauldrons bedding, twin desks, and twin dressers. The room also had a unique smell.

"Fred, how come your room smells like gunpowder?" she asked.

"George and I's experiments," explained Fred as he started to take off his pants. He paused and looked at her.

"Take it off!" she ordered jokingly. Fred smirked at her, and took off his pants slowly, then threw them on her head. She laughed and pulled the red fabric do just enough to uncover her eyes. Fred was in nothing but his Chudley Cauldrons boxers. He was well toned and tan from Quidditch, she assumed, with freckles dotting all over. "So, are those freckles everywhere?"

"You wanna find out?"

"Nikolyn Dorea, get out now!" Sirius yelled angrily, rapping on the door. Nikki laughed, throwing Fred's pants back at him as she got up and walked out. She laughed at her dad's angry face. "Go get read, princess," he ordered, pushing her towards the stairs. "I'm gonna talk to Fred." Sirius stepped into the room. She grumbled, unhappy that her father was meddling.

"Oi, Black, wanna help me test out a new invention?" Nikki looked at George, standing on the staircase, with what looked like an ear on a fleshy string in his hand. He walked over and kneeled in front of the door. "This is an extendable ear. Fred and I are finishing it up." She nodded and kneeled down next to him. George offered me one of the earbub like ends of the string, and put the other end in his ear. She followed suit.

"I like you, Fred, and I actually like you with my daughter. But she's my daughter, and she's still a little girl in pigtails to me," she hear her father sigh, though it was a little static. "I guess its something I have to deal with, missing 12 years. Just…don't hurt her? I hurt her mother more than I'd like to admit…and I don't want that for my daughter."

"I had no intentions to, Sirius," Fred assured. "She could probably hurt me more easily than I could hurt her. I wear my heart on my sleeve…Nikki on the other hand…well, she's a Slytherin for a reason. Not that it's a bad thing…nor a good thing." There was a pause, where Nikki assumed her father was smiling.

"I'd also appreciate it if you kept your pants on around Nikki," he said, half-jokingly.

"She told me to take em off," Nikki could imagine Fred shrugging, with an amused smirk. "All joking aside, that wasn't sexual at all. It was Nikki and I playing around. Like something I'd do with George or one of my roommates."

"What the bloody hell were you two doing in there, Black?" asked George, looking at her.

"I was treating your brother like a cheap stripper, Weasley," answered Nikki with a smirk.

"You weren't really…were you?"

"No, Georgey, I wasn't."

"Don't call me Georgey."

"Don't you think we should try to get along?"

"I'd say you two are getting along pretty well, considering your past relationship," The two looked up at Fred, innocent smiles plastered on their faces. "So, did the extendable ear work?"

"It works pretty well," answered George, standing up.

"A little static," Nikki added, standing up and taking the ear from George. "This thing is bloody awesome. How come you don't show me other things you've invented?" Fred smiled.

"We try to keep things quiet. George only showed you the ear because this was an opportune time to test it."

"You two invented this?" Sirius took the ear from her hand. Nikki pouted.

"Yup." Fred answered.

"We intend to open a joke shop." George continued.

"But don't tell mum." Fred sighed.

"She hates it." They said in unison. Sirius looked at them.

"I didn't think twins actually did that," he mumbled. Nikki resisted the urge to say she didn't either and thought it was kind of creepy. "This is quite interesting."

"Thank you," Fred smiled.

"That means a lot from you," added George. "We admire you."

"You do hold the record for most detentions given in one day."

"With James Potter."

"Don't tell me you two have some stupid notion about breaking that record?" asked Nikki, rolling her eyes. "Its much better not to get caught." She wasn't heard. The three pranksters were too busy discussing various whatnots of the trade. Nikki figured she could learn from listen to what knowledge her father could share, but she already had a prefect badge to abuse. Plus, she was sure she could convince Harry to lend her the fabulous Marauders' Map from time to time. _'Or get Remus to show me how they made it,_' she thought, knowing it wasn't going to happen, as she walked back down to Ginny's room to get ready.

She dressed in a simple green tee-shirt and jean shorts, and grudgingly doing her hair the muggle way. She'd run out of her styling potions the day before, and should have gotten more before coming to the Weasleys, but she didn't. She couldn't wait until May, when she'd finally be able to use magic outside of school. She tossed the few things she'd gotten out back into her bag and went downstairs. As soon as she stepped foot on the bottom step, Mrs. Weasley was forcing her into a seat between Fred and Charlie, ordering her to eat.

"Your so thin, Nikki dear, do they not feed you in Slytherin house? Or maybe your mum can't cook! Harry so thin too," She looked over at Sirius. "Sirius, can your wife cook?"

"Better than I can," Sirius took a bite of food. "But no where near as good as you, Molly."

"I don't find anything wrong with mum's cooking," Nikki declared, taking a bite of the food. It was absolutely delicious. "Mrs. Weasley, teach my mum to cook!"

After breakfast, they all headed out to catch the portkey. Nikki walked a few paces behind Fred, George, and her father, discussing the different teams with Ginny. Nikki had to admit, she was growing fond of the soon-to-be third year.

"Vicktor Krum," said Ginny very simply. "That's why Bulgaria will win."

"I'll admit that Bulgaria is good, and Krum does strike my fancy, but I've got some hope for Ireland," declared Nikki. Hermione walked beside them, completely lost. "If anyone's gonna be Bulgaria it's gonna be them." They meet up with the Diggorys near the portkey. Nikki knew the son, Cedric, from Prefect duties. He seemed nice, but he was a Hufflepuff, and being a Slytherin, she had little respect for them. In all honestly, Slytherin had more respect for Gryffindor than Hufflepuff. They were so…loyal. Like dogs. It was sickening to a point. Sure, Gryffindors were loyal, but they were also brave and would do what they felt was right. Hufflepuffs were more blind followers.

"You've got your Slytherin look on," She looked up at Fred.

"Finally done Hero Worshipping my father?" she asked. "You know, that's kinda creepy. You're my boyfriend, and you hero worship my dad."

"Hey, not my fault you're the daughter of one of the best pranksters Hogwarts has ever known," declared Fred.

"Are you really his kid, Black? I mean, your so…ehhh," George seemed to not have a word to describe her, so settle for the noise of neutrality.

"I'm pretty sure I'm his," she declared. "I mean, its not like I don't look just like him or anything," she added sarcastically. Fred chuckled and put an arm around her.

"Charlie still fancies your cousin, y'know that?" he whispered, pointing ahead at his brother.

"Well, they've kept in touch over the years," she murmured. "But, he broke it off with her, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but I'm sure its cuz he was going to Romania, y'know? Mum's always nagging him to find and good girl, and she was so angry that he let Tonks go for apparently 'stupid' reasons,"

"Stupid reason we haven't been privy to know," added George.

"Well, Dora fancies someone else now," murmured Nikki. "Someone I'd be very happy if she married."

"Who?" asked both Twins. Nikki had a feeling they were spying for Charlie.

"Tell Charlie to ask her himself," she declared as they reached the portkey.

"Tell Charlie to do what now?" asked Charlie, looking back at them.

"Nothing," the three chorused.


	3. Family

**So, I won't be updating as much as I normally do because my sister just got surgery so I'm taking care of her, so I don't have as much time to write. It also doesn't help that this is an AUish Goblet of Fire threw Deathly Hallows fic, and GoF is my least favorite book .**

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><p>"You shouldn't gamble you two," declared Nikki, walking towards the Quidditch stadium.<p>

"You're not my girlfriend, Black, so why should it matter to you if I gamble?" asked George.

"Because you obviously don't know how to judge the people you make bets with," she said, shooting the boys a look.

"And you do, Nik?" asked Fred, "You don't strike me as a gambler."

"Exactly," she huffed. "I've been playing people for years. In my third year, I gotta 100 galleons for spending a whole Saturday in the Shrieking Shack. In fourth, I got twice that much for spending an entire night."

"That's unfair, Black!" exclaimed George.

"You knew the truth about it," added Fred.

"I'm a Slytherin. We specialize in taking advantage of the situation," she shrugged it off. "You two have some skills in this category, or else you wouldn't be able to pull off half of your pranks. But you're still do-gooder Gryffindors."

"And you're a slimy Slytherin," Fred leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Whatchu think that thing that's happening at Hogwarts is?" he added in unison with George. Nikki wondered if there was some truth to Twin Telekinesis.

"I dunno, we'll know soon enough," she shrugged. "I could ask Mum if she knows anything. If anything, it'll strike her interest as a reporter and she'll investigate." Nikki could never figure out how her mum went from Muggle Studies to Daily Prophet reporter, nor would she bothering asking.

"I wanna know nooow," whined George.

"But that prat Percy probably won't tell us much," added Fred.

"Let's just drop it. If you keep thinking about it, it'll drive you mad," sighed Nikki as they started trooping up to top box.

"I can't believe Ireland actually won!" declared Ginny as Nikki, her and Hermione sat at the little table as the boy celebrated. Nikki had a suspicion that Ron had some for of man-crush on Vicktor Krum, but Ginny beat her to the punch on jokes about it. "I mean, I'm happy they did, but I wasn't gonna put money on it."

"it's a good thing to not make bets unless their a sure thing, huh, Ginny?" she said loud enough for the twins to hear.

"We won that bet, didn't we?" laughed Fred and George in unison. Suddenly, there was a commotion outside. Nikki watched as her father and Mr. Weasley got up and check out the flap of the tent. Nikki saw people rushing past through the space between the two. Nikki stood up and walked over.

"Daddy, what's up?" she asked, peeking her head out the tent. Sirius put his hand on her back and motioned Harry over. Nikki peeked over head out the tent, and saw a group of wizard. They were in all black, with pointed hoods and white masks. She recognized what they were almost immediately. Most wizarding children would know quickly, and being in a house where these people were hero worshipped just helped. "Death Eaters…" she murmured as Sirius and Mr. Weasley rushed the children out of the tent. Nikki felt Fred take her hand and almost drag her away. She had enough sense to reach out and grab the back of Harry's shirt, dragging him with, and effectively making sure Ron and Hermione stayed with them as well. It wouldn't work very well if they all got separated with Death Eaters around. Especially with the blood Boy Who Lived. They hid in the woods nearby. Nikki quickly took count, making sure everyone was there.

"Where's my wand?" asked Harry, frantically checking his pockets.

"You don't have your wand, Harry?" asked Sirius, looking at him.

"I must have left it in the tent…"

"Foolish boy," Nikki mumbled under her breath. "This is what we get for letting Muggles raise him."

"Shut up, Nikki," grumbled her god brother. "Sometimes you're just like Malfoy."

"I am a Slytherin," Nikki shrugged, pulling out her wand. She was about to _accio _Harry's wand, when something started appearing in the sky. She gasped, her wand falling from her hand. Above them, slithering in the sky. She felt her stomach knot, then felt faint. She swallowed, looking around at the group. Mr. Weasley looked shocked. Her father's jaw was clenched, but she could sense fear from him. Ginny had taken steps closer to her brothers, who were all paling. Hermione had her mouth covered, her eyes wide. Harry was clutching his forehead, his scar obviously hurting.

"Is that…really The Dark mark?" Fred breath, pulling her closer.

"I…I think so…"

The ministry was in disarray following the World Cup. Nikki's mother was swamped with all the media coverage, but she was trying to keep it under control. Not that Grace or Sirius were hiding anything from Nikki and Harry.

"We all know this may very well have something to do with Harry," sighed her mother as they discussed it at dinner.

"Then doesn't that mean you're all in danger, Gracie?" asked Harry, looking down.

"So what?" Sirius said, "You're family, Harry. We're a family."

"And as stupid and Gryffindor as it sounds, that means we stick together," added Nikki, crossing her arms and trying to force herself to sound disgusted with herself to sound like Gryffindor. "Even if your in danger. If anything, its more reason for us to stick together."

"Sirius and I have done this before, when Lily and James went into hiding," added Gracie, reaching across the table and taking his hand. "Even though Sirius wasn't the secret keeper, we still knew it was possible for You-Know-Who to think he was. We didn't abandon Lily and James just because it was dangerous." Harry looked down, and Nikki could tell he was touched by all the family love. Nikki would find it pathetic, if she didn't know Harry.

"Let's not concern ourselves with this," she sighed, running a hand threw her hair. "The Dark Lord" - Yes, as Slytherin and Death Eater like as it sounded, she called him The Dark Lord because You-Know-Who and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were lame and weak - "has been dead for 13 years. This was just a fringe group of his remaining followers trying to stir up trouble." She stood up and smiled at her family. "But I'll keep my ears open for anything out of the ordinary among the other Slytherins."


	4. Triwizard Tournament

Nikki was sure her other should be medicated for paranoia. Of course, the woman had lost almost everything to Death Eaters during the war, so she had a reason for fussing over Harry and her, even going as far as to suggest them not going to Hogwarts that year. She worried for Harry's safety, and in extension, Nikki's. Still, this was the woman who made her carry around Wolfsbane potion.

"Mum, chill," ordered Nikki in a hushed tone as they walked to the Platform.

"Nikolyn, think, will you," sighed Gracie, running a hand threw her hair. It was a gesture both her parents did when something bothered them, and she found herself wondering where'd they'd picked it up. Had James Potter done the same thing? Remus certainly didn't do it. "Most people are still unsure about your father, to add to that, you're basically Harry Bloody Potter's sister, and you're a Slytherin. That would cause you issues without what happened at the Cup." Gracie paused, and looked at Sirius and Harry, who walked ahead of them. Nikki realized her mother was genuinely scared. "There's talk of a new Dark Lord."

"A new one?" asked Nikki in shock. "But…how?"

"There were Dark Wizards bent on world domination before You-Know-Who, and everyone knew eventually there was going to be another one," Gracie sighed. "Magic is power, and as long as there is power, there will be those who want to abuse it." Nikki nodded. "Just…watch out for yourself and for Harry this year, okay Nikki? We have our family back…and I don't want to loose it again."

"Don't worry, mum. We'll be at Hogwarts, the safest place in the world!" Nikki assured her mum, before running threw the wall between platforms 9 and 10.

"Not even the ministry is as safe as Hogwarts," said Gracie, once she'd gone threw the wall as well. "But that doesn't mean that even at Hogwarts you're completely safe." Nikki nodded.

"I know, Mum. Dad snuck in, didn't he?"

"Which I'm sure you helped with."

"I did not!" she exclaimed. "It was Hermione Granger's cat!" She looked at Rainbow, who was watching them from her cage. "Right, Rainbow? It was Crockshanks!" Rainbow meowed.

"What are you two talking about this time?" asked Sirius with a chuckle.

"Nikki, it worries me how much you talk to your cat," added Harry, sniggering.

"I talk to my cat just as much as you talk to your owl, Harry," huffed Nikki.

"It seems you two are starting to interact like siblings more and more everyday." Nikki looked up as arms wrapped around her waist. Fred smiled down at her, leaning down and kissing her nose.

"You would know all about how siblings interact, wouldn't you Mr.5-brothers-and-a-sister?"

"You're mother is a saint," declared Gracie. "I can barely take care of these two."

"I think you're doing a great joke, Gracie," assured Harry. Nikki mumbled about him being a suck up just loud enough for everyone to hear. Fred laughed.

"You're a natural sister!" He kissed her cheek. "You say good bye to your family while I take your stuff to our compartment." He let go, took her trolley, and started wheeling it to the train.

"You are aware I have Prefect duties, right?" asked Nikki, looking after him. Fred made an unhappy face over his shoulder, but then shrugged and joined his brother and friends. "He took my stuff."

"He's being a gentleman, Nikki," Sirius smirked. "I know you've only dated Slytherins in the past, so you don't have much experience with them."

"Hey, not all Slytherins are bad!" exclaimed Nikki.

"You're the only decent one I've met," declared Harry.

"That's no true. You're year has some decent Slytherins."

"Like who?" asked Harry with a disbelieving laugh.

"Blaise Zabini is nice. Aloof, yes, but a nice lad. Draco Malfoy's a little spoiled, but they all are. And Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle can be sweet. Slow, yes, but I've seen them be sweet. All four of em are saints for putting up with Pansy Bloody Parkinson," declared Nikki. "Pug-face." Harry raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're full of shit, Nikolyn."

"Harry James Potter, Language!" exclaimed Gracie.

"I find it hard to believe that a Malfoy, Crabbe or Goyle can be decent," grumbled Sirius.

"No Slytherin seems decent to those outside our house," Nikki shrugged. "Fred hated me up till the beginning of last year," she added to prove her point. "Now c'mon, Harry, we're gonna miss our train."

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><p>Nikki slipped between Fred and Katie Bell as the mass of Hogwarts students situated themselves. She smiled her thanks at the younger girl for moving over, then kissed Fred's cheek. "Shouldn't you be at your table?"<p>

"You are aware the only person I'm remotely close to in my house is Adrian Pucey, correct?" she asked. Fred make an unhappy face at the mention of her ex-boyfriend. "I'm on speaking terms with most everyone…at least I think I still am. I'll admit, out of all your Gryffindor house, you and George have the most respect of the Slytherins, so I may not be completely hated for dating you."

"Really?" George sounded shock.

"Of course," Nikki shrugged. "To pull off as much as you two do, it requires admirable amounts of cunning and ambition, the main Slytherins traits. Now, most of us dislike what you use those traits to do, but we admire the traits none the less."

"You're not shitting us, Black?" asked George.

"Of course not. I mean, even though we've technically been enemies for the last four years, I have a certain respect for both of you." She smiled. "Even if you do have a creepy man-crush on my father."

"I do not have a _man-crush_ on your father!" exclaimed George in disgust.

"How could you say such a thing?" asked Fred in mock betrayal. "I only have eyes for you!"

"Unless my dad is around," she said jokingly. The twins didn't have a chance to retort as the sorting started. Nikki watched the students, seeing if anyone who caught her interest was sorted into Slytherin. She watched a little girl who's name she hadn't exactly heard stroll up to the stool with confidence that was obviously masking nervousness, slipping up onto the stool. The Sorting hat fell on the girl's head, covering half her face. After a moment's hesitation, the hat yelled out his choice.

"_SLYTHERIN!_" Slytherin table clapped their hands, as did Nikki, but she didn't take her eyes off the girl. Professor McGonagall pulled the hat off the girl's head. The girl was trying not to cry. Nikki felt a ping of understanding. She'd cried when she'd been placed in Slytherin instead of Gryffindor.

"Nikki, something wrong?" she looked up at Fred.

"N…nothing."

"Liar." He just slipped an arm around her waist and didn't press farther. Nikki decided she would talk to the little first year after the feast as Dumbledore stood up to begin his customary speech.

"So! Now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices. Everyone fell into silence and looked up at the old Headmaster, event though the notices were the same. Check the ever growing list of forbidden objects and the Forbidden Forest was off limits. These warnings were followed by a pointed look at Fred and George. "It is also my painful duty to inform you that the inter-house Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

"What!" exclaimed Fred and George in unison.

"No Quidditch?" Nikki asked in shock. Everyone was clearly shocked that there would be no Quidditch that year. It was bloody quidditch! How could they have a school year without quidditch! Dumbledore paused to let the shock subside, before continuing.

"This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teacher's time and energy- but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts." He stopped again, as the door at the side of the Professor's table opened and a rather nasty looking man walked in. His face was covered in scars, and a chunk of his nose of missing. His hair was dark grey and grizzled, and one normal, dark eye. The other was electric blue, and brought a new meaning to the phrase "lazy eye."

Dumbledore greeted the man like an old friend before continuing. "May I introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher? Professor Moody. As I was saying, we are to have the honour of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event which has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

Nikki listened with extreme interest as Dumbledore explained the Triwizard Tournament, as did anyone eyes. Nikki was definitely going to enter, regardless of the age limit. She was a Slytherin. She would find away. She had a feeling Fred and George were thinking the same.

* * *

><p>Nikki kissed Fred goodbye at the entrance to the dungeons, before continuing down to the Slytherin Dungeon. She was about to enter, when she hear quiet sobbing. She walked down a little ways and say the first year from before crouching against the wall, crying. She walked over and crouched next to the girl, and patted her back.<p>

"What house did you wanna be in?" she asked when the girl looked up at her. The girl quickly wiped her eyes.

"G…Gryffindor…or Ravenclaw…anything but Slytherin!" she exclaimed, then looked down.

"Even Hufflepuff?"

"I wouldn't wanna be a Hufflepuff…but my mum and dad would be happier if I were a Hufflepuff than a Slytherin…" Nikki nodded understandingly. Nikki was sure even her father had been disappointed to find out she was a Slytherin, even if he'd never voiced such an opinion. She knew her mum had been. Nikki had actually gotten a Howler for it.

"I understand how you feel," Nikki smiled reassuringly at the girl. "I wanted to be a Gryffindor, but being a Slytherin isn't all that bad. So what? We're cunning and Ambitious. There's a reason Slytherins are so well known. We have more drive to accomplish what we want. Whether it's good or bad, that's up to the individual." Nikki stood up and offered her hand. "I'm Nikki Black, one of Slytherin house's Prefects. The girl hesitated, then took her hand.

"I'm Sera Wilshire," Nikki helped the girl up. She didn't have a pureblood last name. The girl had to be a half-blood or muggleborn. Nikki wouldn't want to be a Slytherin either.

"Well, Sera, why don't you join me at the Gryffindor table tomorrow morning for breakfast?" asked Nikki, leading Sera to the common room.


	5. MadEye Moody

"Why do you eat at the Gryffindor table?" asked Sera as they walked to the Great Hall the next morning.

"Because its where my friends are," answered Nikki simply. She honestly did consider Fred's friends more as friends than her own roommates. "Its perfectly okay to have friends outside of your house. And honestly, its hard to making friends in Slytherin house and sometimes not worth it." Nikki slipped into the seat next to Fred and motioned for Sera to take the empty on her right. Sera nervously sat down, smiling at the older Gryffindors. Fred peeked at her curiously over Nikki's head.

"Nikki love, who's you're friend?" he asked.

"This is Sera Wilshire, she's a first year."

"Aw, wittle Nikkikins made a friend!" said George mockingly.

"Aw, you jealous, Georgey?" Nikki shot back.

"You two are on a nickname basis! This is great!" exclaimed Fred.

"Fred, I honestly think this is the best your gonna get," said Nikki with a sigh as she started piling food on her plate.

"Me and Black will always just not like each other," declared George. Fred sighed.

"Guys…" sighed Fred. Nikki just looked at Sera.

"This is Fred and George Weasley. They had man crushes on my father," she introduced jokingly.

"I do _not_ have a man crush on your father!" exclaimed George, just as disgusted by the joke as he'd been the night before.

"How about you come to the Room of Requirements with me and I'll prove that little statement wrong?" Fred smirked suggestively.

"That's a very lame attempt at getting me in bed, Fred," declared Nikki. "Try harder, love." Sera giggled quietly next to her.

The heads of houses began to pass out schedules. McGonagall seemed to have enough foresight to realize Nikki would be at the Gryffindor table and had gotten her schedule from Snape. That didn't mean Nikki could avoid the grumpy Potions Professor as long as she'd wanted though. She'd had to take Sera to their head of house to get her own schedule. Sera had hidden behind her the entire exchange, not that Nikki blamed her. Snape was giving Nikki a particularly icy glare. She knew it had to do with her hexing him in the Shrieking Shack the last year, but she wasn't going to apologize. Bloody git should keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business.

"Don't be so scared of him," Nikki assured as she showed Sera where the Transfiguration class was. "He's just got it out for me. He and my dad have been enemies since school…and it didn't help that I hexed him last year."

"You hexed a professor!" exclaimed Sera, a mixture of shock and admiration on her face.

"Well…yeah. Don't do that and expect to get away with it though. It was an extreme situation," Nikki said, using her prefect tone. "I'm shocked I've still got my prefect badge. Hell, I think if I hadn't been involved in the apprehension of a dangerous fugitive, I would have been lucky just to loose my badge."

"Very right, Black," Nikki smiled at Professor McGonagall.

"Good Morning, Professor," Nikki patted Sera on the back. "Well here ya go, kiddo."

"Thank you, Nikki," Sera smiled and walked into the classroom.

"I wonder if I should have you re-sorted into my house, Black," McGonagall said offhandedly. Nikki looked at the professor.

"What do you mean, ma'am?" she asked.

"You just seem more at ease with Gryffindors," McGonagall looked at her. "You've always been uptight around your own housemates, but among my house you've let yourself go. And might I add you're very much like your parents when you're at ease?" Nikki shrugged. "I have a feeling that first year will be the same way."

"Well, at least it won't take her 5 years to realize that," Nikki smiled. "I'll see you later, Professor."

"Behave yourself, Black." Nikki fought down a snigger at the farewell as she walked to Defense Against The Dark Arts. Fred and George were in there, talking animatedly with Angelina and Lee Jordan. Nikki walked over and wrapped her arms around Fred. He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Did you take your new friend to class?" he asked.

"Sod off, Fred. I feel sorry for her," she sighed, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Did you see her when she was sorted into Slytherin? She was about to cry!"

"So? I'd figure you'd be ashamed of that," declared George. "You're all "Slytherin Pride"!"

"Just because I feel pride in my house doesn't mean I'm not ashamed of my house's reputation!" she exclaimed. "But, the most vile creature I've ever had the displeasure of meeting was a Gryffindor, so I see no reason to put you do-gooders on a pedestal like everyone else does."

Nikki let go of Fred and trudged off to a desk in the center of the classroom. Today just didn't seem like a good day to deal with George. This morning Fred had seemed upset about the way they treated each other. Nikki knew it must be hard on him that she and George didn't get along, and it was unfair, but part of her couldn't bring herself to be the one to try and end the animosity between the two of them. In all honesty, Nikki knew that she and George would constantly be fighting for Fred's attention, and she was okay with that. George was his brother. But she couldn't help but get the feeling that George felt like she was stealing his brother. Or maybe she was just as paranoid as her mother. She sighed as someone took the seat next to her.

"I'm sorry for fighting with George, Fred," she said automatically, figuring it was Fred who had sat next to her.

"I'm not Fred," Nikki's head shot up so fast was sure she'd have whiplash. Adrian smiled at her. "Trouble with your little Gryffindor?"

"None of your business, Adrian," she sighed, running a hand threw her hair. Her parents were rubbing off on her.

"You can talk to me, Nikki. We're still friends, aren't we?" he asked, his smile widening. "I know things didn't end well between us, but I do wanna still be your friend. Plus, we're gonna be stuck together as prefects anyways."

"I guess you're right," Nikki shook her head, and smiled at him.

"Pucey, you're in my seat," Adrian looked up sheepishly at Fred, before getting up and offering the seat to him with an over dramatic flourish of his hands. Fred sat next to her and put an arm over her shoulders.

"You're not gonna get overly jealous too, are you?" she asked. "You know that's why I broke up with him, right?"

"I know, I just don't like him, Nikki. He still wants to be with you, and it pisses me off," he grumbled. "If he really wanted to be with you he would have treated you right." Nikki started to reassure him, but Professor Moody starting class stopped her. She would talk to him after class. A class she was somewhat dreading. She missed Remus already. Professor Moody just scared her by being in the room.

Moody walked up and began introducing himself. "Alastor Moody. Ex-Auror. Ministry Malcontent, and your new defense against the dark arts teacher," He wrote everything on the board as he spoke. Nikki felt a shiver go down her spine. He was creepy. He continued to say he was only there because Dumbledore asked him, and apparently that was Goodbye and The End, then asked for questions. The class gave him confused stares.

"This guy seems a little mental," Fred whispered in her ear, his arm still around her.

"You, lover boy ginger!" Fred straightened up, slipping his arm off of her. Nikki giggled to herself. "What's your name?

"Fred Weasley, sir," he answered.

"Fred Weasley, can you tell me how many Unforgivable Curses there are?"

"Three, sir." Moody nodded and looked at Nikki.

"And you, you obviously confused Slytherin, what's your name?"

"Nikolyn Black, sir, and I'd hardly say I'm confused," she declared with a huff, crossing her arms.

"Maybe you're just smart," conceded Moody. "But, as a Black I'm sure you know you're fair share about Unforgivable curses."

"That's an unfair assumption!" she exclaimed. "My name doesn't mean I'm versed in the dark arts."

"Why are they called Unforgivable?" Moody asked, turning back to the board.

"Because…using them will result in a life sentence in Azkaban," she answered as Moody began almost angrily writing on the board. "Because they take away three inessential human rights: Free-Will, Well-Being, and Life."

"Good answer, if not a little philosophical," Moody turned back to them. "The ministry believes that you lot aren't old enough to see these curses, but I disagree." He slammed down the chalk and everyone leaned back in their chairs, trying to put distance between them and the mad teacher. Nikki took Fred's hand under the desk. He looked at her, looking lost. _'Probably can't think of any jokes to make this any less terrifying…_' she thought. She would much rather be in Snape's class. At least he was predictable.

"You need to know what's out there," Moody continued his rant. "You need to be prepared!" Fred slipped an arm around her waist. "You need to keep your hands to yourself, Mr. Weasley!" Fred held his hands up in an "I surrender" pose. The class laughed at them.

"I swear its only because of my man-crush on her father that I'm this touchy…don't kill me." Nikki sniggered, and looked back to see George's look of terror.

"You! Other half of the matching pair!" Moody looked at George. "Stand up!" George shot to his feet. Nikki tried not to snigger even more. "Name one of the unforgivable."

"Th…the Imperius Curse," George stammered out.

"Ah, yes. The Imperius Curse. Gave the Ministry a good deal of grief a few years back. Let me show you why," Moody turned and walked back to the front of class. George slowly sat down. Moody turned back to the class with some large, grotesques spider-type thing. He enlarged it, then held it so that the whole class could see it, before pointing his wand at it. "_Imperio_." Then, with a flick it his wand, the bug leaped over to perch itself on Lee's head. Lee freaked out, making the class start laughing. Moody made the spider joke to a few other students. "What should I make her do now? Jump out the window?" He flicked his wand and the spider went flying towards the window.

The class immediately became somber. Nikki began running a hand threw her hair nervously. Her parents really were wearing off on her. "Drown herself?" He made the spider float, squirming over a bucket of water. Nikki shrunk back into Fred's arms, knowing it would only get them called out again. Nikki was sure she was going to grow to hate Defense against The Dark Arts. Moody brought the spider to his hand, and went on to explain how many wizards had claimed that they only did The Dark Lord's bidding under the curse, before turning Angelina. "Can you tell us another, Johnson?" he asked, motioning for her to stand.

Angelina slowly stood up. "I…I know the…Cruciatus curse."

"Correct! This one is particularly nasty. The torture curse." Moody set the spider down on a table so that everyone can see, and pointed his wand at the poor thing. "_Crucio." _Nikki covered her eyes, and curled up in Fred's arms a little bit more, not daring to look at the poor creature. She felt Fred tense, but he didn't move. Someone finally called out for him to stop it. Moody regained what little composure he seemed to possess, and turned back to the class. Nikki peeked at the front of the class. Moody's eyes landed on her and she gulped. "Miss Black, you should be familiar with the last unforgivable, seeing your family's history with it. Why don't answer again?"

Nikki missed Remus. Hell, she'd even be happy with the blithering idiot Lockhart back. Anyone but Alastor Moody to be her Defense against The Dark Arts Teacher.


	6. Harry Potter!

There was one thing that all four houses could agree on, and that's the fact that Alastor Moody was raving mad. Nikki was pretty sure he was the most insane person she had ever met, and she was living with her father who was recovering from 12 years in Azkaban. She faintly wondered if the ex-Auror had spent sometime in the prison as the year passed on.

Late in October, people from the other school that were participating in the Triwizard Tournament arrived. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. The Beauxbatons girls arrived in a carriage with freaking Pegasuses? Nikki had seen unicorns before, but freaking Pegasuses - Or was it Pegasi? She made a note to ask Hermione later - where something she actually thought were muggle rubbish. The Durmstrang boys had a less…fantastical mode of transportation. They merely had a ship that sail underwater.

"These school defy all logic," declared Nikki, rubbing her temples as she walked to the Gryffindor table with Sera. "And they just mean more work for me. You'd think they'd bring their own prefects - or whatever their equivalent is - but no. The mere 24 of us that barely keep the Hogwarts students in check have to look after them. What do we do? Its not like we can deduct points."

"You know, Sera, you could sit and she wouldn't even notice," Nikki stopped her rant and realized they'd arrived at the table and she'd continued to rant without even realizing. Fred smiled at her.

"I'm sorry, its just they just told us in the emergency meeting that we're expect to keep Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students in check. That's three times the work!" she grumbled, taking her seat next to him. Fred leaned down and kissed her cheek, before moving up a little to whisper in her ear.

"Then why don't you meet me after your patrol tonight, and lemme help you take care of some of the stress all that extra work is going to cause you," Nikki felt a shiver go up her spine as his warm breath brush against her ear. She pushed him back a little, fighting down a blush.

"Maybe."

"I'll meet you in the Astronomy Tower," he said, obviously not realizing that _maybe_ wasn't _yes._ She decided not to argue as Dumbledore situated himself at the front of the Great Hall. He stood up and announced that the competing schools for the Triwizard Tournament had arrived, which everyone already knew.

"Now, please allow me to welcome the lovely ladies of Beauxbatons Academy and their headmistress, Olympe Maxime." With a wave of his hand towards the doors of the Great Hall, they flew open and a group of very pretty girls gracefully strutted in like they owned the place. Nikki noted almost grudgingly there wasn't an ugly one among them, and that their silken blue uniforms were perfectly in place. They walked a few paces, leaned over and sigh longingly, then almost ran up to the front.

"Bloody Hell…" sighed Ron.

"Bloody Hell indeed," agreed George. "Why aren't our girls' uniforms like that?"

"Ain't that right, oh twin of mine," Fred agreed as well. Nikki reached up and playfully swatted his head. "None of them are as pretty as you, Nikki love."

"You speak too soon, brother," George said, pointing at the last Beauxbatons girl. She was tall and willowy, and almost seemed to glow. She had long silvery hair the reached her waist, and even from her spot at the Gryffindor table she could tell she had bright blue eyes. She seemed so beautiful that everyone else immediately dulled, and had a grace about her that the other Beauxbatons girls lacked.

"Bloody hell…" Fred murmured, running his eyes over the girl, before he seemed to remember that Nikki was sitting next to her. "Um…sorry?"

"No…its okay. That girl's so beautiful I'd go gay for her," Nikki declared, eying the girl as every other female student in Hogwarts was, with jealousy and budding misplaced hatred.

"She is very pretty," murmured Ginny. Nikki could hear the same emotions, poorly masked under her voice.

"She really is!" agreed Sera, seemingly not effected like the others. Nikki decided it was because she _was_ only 11.

Dumbledore waited until the cheering of the Great Hall quieted, and the Beauxbatons girls took their seats at the Ravenclaw table, before continuing. "And, now, our friends from the North, please greet the Proud Sons of Durmstrang, and Their High Master, Igor Karkaroff!" Nikki found it amusing how much it sounded like Dumbledore was some form of commentator.

Whereas Beauxbatons' entrance put emphasis on the grace and beauty of the girls, Durmstrang's emphasized the power of their students. The marched in, hitting their staffs on the ground in an rhythmic and ominous way. They were dressed in fur and blood red, which to Nikki to made them seem more powerful. They walked in a single file line, stopped and did some form of chorography with their staffs, before setting them down and running towards the front. The Hogwarts students were shocked. Nikki found the display enthralling, especially as some of the students did a few flips at the front of the Great Hall.

"Blimey, its him!" Nikki looked at Ron with a raised eyebrow. "Vicktor Krum!" he added as Krum walked past them.

"Mmm…look at that ass," she murmured, imitating how the boys had looked at the Beauxbatons girls' earlier.

"Are you looking to leave me, Nikki?" asked Fred jokingly.

"Well, one must always be looking for ways to advance themselves," she answered with a joking smirk. "And what way to advance up the social latter than a famous Quidditch player?"

"How about a not yet famous redhead?" he suggested, leaning down to kiss her.

"Stop it you two! We're about to eat!" exclaimed George.

"I don't wanna watch my god sister snogging you all the time, Fred," declared Harry, crinkling up his nose in disgust. "Its bad enough that I have to deal with Sirius and Gracie doing it at home all the time."

* * *

><p>"I hear the Halloween Feast is amazing," declared Sera with a smile. Since school started, Nikki had grown fond of the little Slytherin. She really did remind her of a younger her. Nikki wished she'd had someone to show her it's okay to be a Lion Among Snakes, but she hadn't, so she felt the need to be that for Sera.<p>

"It is," Nikki smiled at her as they left the Slytherin dungeon. "How are classes going?"

"Their going good. I don't have many Slytherin friends, but I've made friends with some of the Gryffindors," Sera looked up at her like she wanted to ask something, but was too scared to.

"Something else?"

"Are you really Harry Potter's sister?" she asked nervously. Nikki laughed.

"I'm not his sister per say. We're god siblings, so we live together…and Fred says we get along like siblings." Nikki shrugged. "We don't spend as much time together at school as most siblings, though I'd like to say he feels he can come talk to me, though he's more likely to run off and talk to my mum or dad instead. I know I feel protective of him like a sister would, or at least how I think a sister would. I'm not good at the sibling thing. I've been an only child for 15 years, and then all of a sudden I have a brother. It's been an adjustment." She stopped herself before she went off on a tangent.

"That's so cool! You're the sister of the Boy Who Lived!"

"It's not all that big of a deal. Harry can be kinda a prat," Nikki shrugged again. "And he doesn't like all the admiration that seems to come with his scar. It isn't a happy thing for him, Sera. That one night destroy our whole family."

"Oh…okay…" They walked in silence for a few moments before Sera thought up another question. "Did you ever figure out how to get your name in the Goblet?"

"I thought up something, but I'm already on Snape's bad side. I don't need to make things worse by breaking into his personal stores to get the ingredients to make Polyjuice potions," Nikki shrugged. She had toyed with the idea of Polyjuicing herself was Angelina, since the girl had just turned 17, but lacked the means to. Fred and George had created an aging potion, which had backfired when they went to put their names in the Goblet. Nikki was still finding grey hairs mixed among Fred's ginger ones.

"Fred and George's attempt was pretty funny," Sera's mind seemed to have gone to that incident too.

"And that's yet another reason why I didn't try. Can you imagine how that would have backfired on me? I could have been like half Angelina half me for weeks!" Nikki laughed, walking into the Great Hall. The Goblet of Fire sat in the middle of the room, looking both beautiful and ominous. Nikki walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat next to Fred. Sera ran down to the end and sat with a few of the first year Gryffindor Girls.

"Hello, love," Fred kissed her cheek.

"Hey," Nikki brushed her lips against his, before turning back to the group. Angelina looked pale. "Hey, Angelina, are you okay?" she asked.

"She's just nervous," George answered for her.

"What if I'm really picked?" mumbled Angelina.

"Why'd you put your name in if you're scared of being picked?" asked Nikki.

"Because I wasn't scared at the time but now…" Angelina bit her lip. "Someone _died_ in the last one…" Nikki reached over the table and patted the older girl's shoulder, trying to be reassuring.

"I bet it was a Beauxbatons girl," she declared. Angelina laughed, albeit a little unsurely.

"Oh what a shame that would be," declared Fred and George, looking over at the Ravenclaw table where the Beauxbatons girls were seated.

"You two are worse than Ronald," declared Hermione, walking past them to join Ron and Harry a little further down the table.

"She's right, you two are worse than Ronald!" Nikki laughed.

"Oh, you're just jealous you don't look that good, Nikkikins."

"And you're just jealous you'll never get a girl that looks like me, let alone one that looks like that, Georgey," Nikki narrowed her eyes a little.

"You two…please stop fighting…" sighed Fred.

"I'm sorry, love," Nikki kissed his cheek. It didn't lighten the mood like it normally would. Nikki sighed, running a hand threw her hair again. The Halloween Feast went on as normal, but Nikki had a bad feeling about that night. She could feel a fight brewing between her and Fred. At the end of the feast, the Champions where chosen. For Beauxbatons, the champion was the overly beautiful girl from before, Fleur Delacour. For Durmstrang, it was Vicktor Krum, which made everyone begin mumbled. It wasn't too shocking. And for Hogwarts…it was Cedric Diggory. "A _Hufflepuff_?"

"It appears so," mumbled Fred.

"How could we be represented by a _Hufflepuff_?" groaned Nikki. The champions were sent back to the room behind the Great Hall, and the mumbling about Champions started to stop. Then the Goblet of Fire flared to life again. "Should that be happening?"

"I don't think so…"

A piece of parchment flew from the Goblet. Dumbledore reached up and caught it. He read it, his eyes growing wide. "Harry Potter!" Everyone's eyes flew to her god brother. Nikki stared at the old man. Harry? He couldn't have put his name in the Goblet, let alone gotten chosen. Hogwarts had a champion. "Harry Potter!"


	7. Sirius is angry

Moments after Harry's name came out of the Goblet, Nikki found herself in Dumbledore's office, fire-calling her parents. She was kneeling in front of the fireplace, her head stuck in as she impatiently tried to get Gracie to shut up.

"Oh, Merlin's pants, Nikolyn, what did you do?" Sirius walked into the room, cutting her mother's paranoid rant off.

"Before you start blabbering like your wife, its not me," sighed Nikki, cutting Sirius off before he could start trying to wildly guess what was wrong like her mother had.

"Merlin, what's happened?" Sirius walked over and kneeled next to Gracie. He seemed much more worried about the unknown then thinking that Nikki had done something wrong.

"I don't exactly know. The Goblet was announcing the Triwizard Champions - Ours is a freaking _Hufflepuff! _A _Hufflepuff_! - " She stopped herself from continuing on her Hufflepuff rant. "Anyways, after the three champions were announced, the Goblet chose a _fourth_ champion!" Nikki took a moment toe gage her parents reactions. Sirius seemed to have figured where her story was going, but Gracie just didn't seem to get it yet. "Harry. I don't know how his name got in. I mean, neither me nor the twins could actually figure out how to get _our_ names in, I have no idea how Harry did it. I didn't even know he _wanted_ to enter."

"I don't think he would…" sighed Gracie, taking Sirius' hand. Nikki could tell her mother was worried, and for once it was appropriate. "Do you think this has something to do with the World Cup incident?"

"Do you think Voldemort could somehow be involved?" wondered Sirius.

"Harry told me over the summer, right before the Cup, that his scar had been hurting him…" said Nikki thoughtfully. Gracie covered her mouth, gasping. Sirius looked somber, looking in her direction but not really looking, with his lips pressed together in thought.

"Nikki, get out of the fireplace. I'm coming to Hogwarts," Sirius stood up, letting go of Gracie's hand. "Grace, stay here. Floo-ing in your condition isn't advisable." Nikki made a note to ask about that statement later as she pulled her head out of the fire. Moments later, Sirius stepped out of the fireplace, dusting off his robes.

"I think Dumbledore's still in that room behind the Great Hall," said Nikki, motioning to the exit of the office. Sirius nodded and walked of the room. Nikki sighed and following her father. "Y'think Harry's in trouble?"

"I think I want you to keep a close eye on your god brother if I can't get him out of this damned tournament," sighed Sirius, running a hand threw his hair. "Your mother has a point. It's not out of the range of possibilities that Voldemort's followers are involved."

"But why would they get involved in this, daddy?" asked Nikki, looking at her father. He was starting to look much healthier. Her mother was taking good care of him.

"Nikki, you mean to tell me you tried to get past the age limit without figuring out _why_ it was in place?" asked Sirius. "That's unlike you, Nikolyn."

"I just figured it was a little dangerous and all, but I most certainly didn't think it was overly dangerous or that the bloody _Dark Lord_ may get involved," she grumbled.

"People die in this tournament, princess," sighed Sirius. "There's a reason it hasn't been held in centuries." Nikki stared at him. People _died_? Sure, Angelina had said earlier that a person had died before, but she didn't want to think that _people_ had died. That was plural. That implied that is was common. That made her wonder what the hell was wrong with the ministry trying to bring it back!

"Bloody Blood Traitorous Ministry!" she growled. "Why the bloody hell would those fools bring back a competition where people _died_?"

"I don't know," sighed Sirius, pushing open the doors to the Great Hall. There were some gasps and pointing, and one person screamed her father's name in shock and Nikki was sure terror. Professor Snape walked up, looking at Sirius with contempt.

"It seems that Miss Black's first thought in the sight of trouble is to go running to you now, Black," he sneered.

"Where's Harry?" demanded Sirius. Nikki felt someone take her hand. She looked down at Fred.

"You got your dad?" Nikki nodded. "What's going on?"

"I don't know. I'll meet you at the Astronomy tower after," she let got of his hand and followed her father to the room where the champions where.

"Nikki, why don't you go back to your table?" he suggested.

"Hell no, dad. I wanna know what's going on!" she declared as they walked in. All the occupants of the room looked at them.

"Iz t'ere anotzer?" asked Fleur in shock.

"I don't believe Miss Black's name has been called out of the Goblet," said Dumbledore, though he sounded like he needed some form of reassurance of that fact.

"I just brought my dad," she assured, before going over to Harry. She reached over and patted Harry's shoulder, smiling at him. "Everything's gonna get sorted out, Harry. Dad's not gonna let you do this. Its too dangerous."

"Thank Merlin," sighed Harry.

"So you didn't put your name in the Goblet?" she asked.

"Hell no! Unlike you and the twins, I haven't spent the last two months trying to break rules!" exclaimed Harry.

"I won't deny that," sighed Nikki.

"Mr. Black, Harry can't get out of the competition," Nikki turned back to her father, Dumbledore and the other heads from the other schools.

"What the bloody hell do you mean Harry can't get out of this competition, Crouch!" exclaimed Sirius, glaring at the Ministry man. "No member of my family is competing in this damned thing!"

"Oh really? Didn't your daughter just freely admit to trying to illegally enter?" This was said in a tone one would say _Like father like child_. Sirius clenched his fist and glared at the man. Nikki knew her father held a grudge against the ministry, and particularly the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, so having to deal with the Head of that department on this matter most certainly didn't help the situation.

"Just because I tried to find a way to illegally enter doesn't mean Harry would wanna, would you, Harry?" she looked at her god brother.

"I don't want any of this," declared Harry. "Why would I want to compete for eternal glory and 1000 galleons?"

"He's already got eternal Glory and ten times that amount of galleons," added Nikki. "He didn't enter himself, that's for sure, so why should he have to compete? It's a fluke. Obviously a mistake."

"The Goblet doesn't make mistakes, Miss Black," sighed Crouch.

"It obviously did this time," growled Sirius. "It's a Triwizard Tournament, not the Quadwizard Tournament."

Crouch sighed, "Whether or not it's a mistake, there's no way out of it. The Goblet forms a binding magical contract."

"Oh Merlin's left ball!" sighed Nikki, running a hand threw her hair. If her mother was there she'd be reprimanded for her language. "Well, there's a way out of any contract, ain't there? Some kind of loop hole? There always is. No contract is out of the bounds of loopholes…unless its an Unbreakable Vow, but even those can have loopholes. It's the joy of language, its can be manipulated."

"Do you intend to pursue a career in magical law, Black?" Nikki felt a shiver run down her spine at the sound of Moody's voice. He creeped her out so much. "There is no way out of this. The Goblet has certainly been manipulated by some form of strong confusion charm, making it this that this _is_ a Quadwizard tournament, and someone obviously entered Potter under this imaginary fourth school." Nikki raised an eyebrow. Moody's explanation was suspicious. How could he know this unless he'd given it some thought. Of course, he was an ex-Auror and used to be paid to think like a Dark Wizard…but still. Something wasn't right about the man.

* * *

><p>"Fucking Crouch," grumbled Sirius angrily after everything was said and done. Harry was going to have to compete, and there was no way around it. Her father wasn't happy, and she knew her mother wasn't either. Harry most certainly didn't want to compete. Nikki had asked if Harry could be replaced by her in the competition. She was nearly 17, she was much more suited to the competition than her 14 year old god brother. Her idea was adamantly shot down as being impossible, and even if it was, Sirius wouldn't allow it.<p>

"Do I really have to…?" asked Harry, looking at his lap.

"Unfortunately, you do," sighed Sirius. "You need to watch your back, Harry…there are people here that can't be trusted."

"Like freaking Moody," mumbled Nikki.

"I'm not sure about Mad-Eye, though something does seem off about him," Sirius looked at them. "There are Death Eaters in the castle, like Karkaroff. I wouldn't be shocked to find others. There are dark things going on in Hogwarts, I can feel it."

"You sound like mum," sighed Nikki, running a hand threw her hair. Harry nodded beside her. "But I have to agree. I don't have a good feeling about this year. Do you too, Harry."

"I've never had a school year where there hasn't been something bad going on in the castle," mumbled Harry. "I guess this year will be no different."

"You really have been screwed over, huh?" Sirius patted Harry's back in a fatherly way.

"Its part of being the Bloody Boy Who Lived."

"Key words being Boy Who Lived," Nikki smiled at them. "You're not the Boy Who Died, so let's no freak. Harry's known for surviving the impossible. I'm not saying you can slack, Harry. You'll just have to approach this all like you did The Chamber of Secrets or the Philosopher's Stone.

Harry smiled. "I guess you're right, Nikki. I mean, how much more dangerous could all this be compared to a basilisk or…Fluffy."

"You're both right, of course," Sirius smiled at them. "But Gracie isn't gonna like it…I wish I she didn't have to deal with it in her condition."

"That's the second time you've said that tonight, daddy. What's wrong with mum?" asked Nikki. Sirius stood up.

"We'll discuss it at another time. Its almost curfew, go to your common rooms." Sirius walked over to the fireplace.

"C'mon, tell us, Sirius!" Harry was obviously curious too.

Sirius threw some floo powder into the fireplace, and smirked at them before waving goodbye.

"Arse," sighed Nikki, before ordering Harry to his common room and going to meet Fred in the Astronomy tower.

"Took ya long enough," Fred smiled at her. Nikki happily walked into his waiting arms and laid her head against his shoulder.

"Harry didn't enter, y'know that, don't ya?" she mumbled into his robes.

"Of course I know that," Fred rubbed her back. "If me and George couldn't figure out how to get our names in, how could he?" He sat down with his back against the wall of the balcony, pulling her down into his lap. "So, explain everything to me." Nikki situated herself into Fred's lap, resting her head on his shoulder, before going on to explain all the events from that night. She knew she rambled a little. She was just slightly uncomfortable in Fred's lap at first. It wasn't him, it was just that she'd never really sat in her former boyfriends' laps. She's always been scared she'd hurt them…or end up feeling something she didn't. But by time she was done explaining everything, she'd relaxed. Of course that may have had something to do with him lazily drawing designs on her uncovered thigh.

"And that's about it," she finished, looking up at him. Fred nodded, and smiled down at her. She leaned up and kissed him. Normally their kisses were short, contrary to all the snogging jokes they got, but Fred seemed to have another idea. He gently nipped her bottom lip, shifting her closer. Nikki paused and pulled back, feeling her face heat up.

"Something wrong, Nikki?" asked Fred.

"Um…yeah…um…" She shifted, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?" he laid his head on her shoulder, looking at her apologetically.

"No…its just…um…" she looked away, feeling her face heat up even more. He stayed silent a moment, then Nikki got the feeling of dread that accompanied his smirk.

"Nikki, love, do you not know how to snog?" he asked innocently.

"I know how it's done," she grumbled. "But…I've never done it." Fred laughed. "Fred it's not funny! I'm 17 in May and I've never snogged someone before!" Fred stopped laughing and put a hand on her cheek, making her look at him.

"Nikki, I'm your boyfriend, aren't I?" he asked in a quiet and only seductive tone. "Why don't you let me teach you?" He leaned forward and recaptured her lips before she could answer. Nikki kissed back more nervously than she'd ever done so before, shifting in his lap so that it was easier. Fred smirked into the kiss and put a hand on her back, steadying her as he deepened the kiss. This was definitely different than the pecks she'd shared before. Fred's lips almost took on personality. They were chapped, and rough from quidditch, but they felt nice against her own. She kissed back with more confidence.

Nikki felt him open his lips, and gently run his tongue against her bottom lip. A shiver went up her spine as she opened her mouth slowly. Fred slipped his tongue into hers and began exploring her mouth. She'd always thought it would be disgusting to have someone else's tongue in her mouth, but somehow the gentle caresses of his tongue against her own didn't feel gross. To be exact it excited her in the same way the trashy romance novels she had a secret weakness for did. She pressed herself against him, using her tongue to imitate what he was doing in her mouth to his. He tangled his hands in her hair, pulling her closer. Nikki wasn't sure if it was possible for them to be any closer by time they pulled apart for air.

"That was…bloody brilliant," she murmured, a little out of breath. Fred laid his head on her shoulder, his breath tickling her ear.

"You could use some more practice," he whispered jokingly. Nikki smacked his head gently, getting up out of his lap.

"Well, you'll have to wait till later. You need to go to your common room."


	8. Charlie and Dora

A few weeks after Halloween, things appeared to have returned to normal. Or, some form of repeating routine that would be considered normal by time the year ended. It wasn't exactly normal. Gryffindor was proud of Harry for being the champion, and Nikki had hear a few Slytherins saying quietly that he was better than a _Hufflepuff_. Ron wasn't happy with Harry, though. The two boys were involved in a childish angry version of The Quiet Game, neither talking to the other. From what she'd gathered, Ron was envious of Harry for being chosen. George had taken a point of neutrality, while Fred had quietly chosen Harry's side in the little argument. Not that it particularly mattered. No one could end this fight but those two.

"Post is here," She looked up from her toast as an owl flew over head, dropping the _Daily Prophet_ in front of her. She picked it up and looked at the front page. Pictures of her family and Harry adorned the page, surrounding an article.

"Harry, the bloody hell is this?" she asked, standing up to hand him the paper over Angelina Johnson and Dean Thomas.

"Why are we on there?" he asked, taking it from her.

"I dunno. I'll write mu-" before the words could fully leave her mouth, her mother's owl landed on the table between them, a letter on her leg. Nikki paused to take the letter from the owl, and feed it some bread. "Looks like mum beat me to the punch."

"Nikki…do I cry at night?" asked Harry, looking at her.

"Nope. I don't think I've ever seen you cry," Nikki answered, tearing open the letter.

"This article says I cry about my parents at night," mumbled Harry.

"Seriously, mate?" asked Neville Longbottom, looking at the article over his shoulder. Nikki looked down at the letter from her mother.

_Nikki & Harry,_

Rita Skeeter, conniving bitch, has decided to write an article about Harry. I'm going to my boss right after I send this to set him straight. She had no rights to go and pry into our family's privacy, but you two are going to have to run damage control until I can get the Prophet_ to write a retraction. I'm sure if I bring your father with me there should be one by tomorrow morning._

Love you both!

Grace-Ann Black.

PS. How would you two feel about a baby sister?

Nikki reread the letter a few times, before handing it numbly over to Harry. She had no doubts that the editor of the _Daily Prophet _would regret the article after her parents spoke with them, but that postscript made her doubt her parents' sanity. Her mother was going through some kind of crisis. Empty nest syndrome, maybe? The woman was only in her early thirties. She sighed, shaking her head and looking at Harry.

"Nikki, how do we feel about a little sister?" he asked, looking over at her.

"I feel mum and dad are too old for kids. I'm nearly 17, and your 14. Who wants a baby when you're raising kids that old?" she mumbled.

"I'm not old!" exclaimed Harry.

"I know," sighed Nikki. "But you still cry yourself to sleep at night according to Skeeter." Harry made a face of disgust. "Remember to write them back, you got it?"

"Why am I writing them back?"

"Because, I'm sure they'll listen to you better when you explain how we don't want a little sister."

"_You_ don't want a sister," he corrected.

"Do you?"

"No, but she wouldn't be my sister," he reminded.

"I'm offended!" Nikki exclaimed in mock hurt. "Did you hear that, Fred? He doesn't want me as a sister!" She looked over her shoulder at him. Fred seemed out of it. Tired, a little worried.

"I never said that!" Nikki ignored him, and put a hand on Fred's back.

"Fred? Love, what's wrong?" she asked, running her hand up and down his back. He looked at her a moment, seemingly lost, then reentered the world of the living.

"Just got something on my mind," He smiled. "Do you wanna take a walk, Nikki?"

"Sure," she smiled and stood up. Fred got up as well, taking her hand and walking out of Great Hall with him. They were out on the lawn before she finally decided to ask. "Fred, what's wrong?"

"We're going to see someone," he said with a smile. "Don't worry, love."

"Who are we meeting?" she asked as they continued to walk.

"You'll see." Fred assured her, smiling down at her. Nikki just rolled her eyes and walked with him. They walked so far along the perimeter of the forbidden forest that the castle was out of sight, and Nikki was beginning to wonder if he just wanted to get away to snog.

"Fred, what're we doing?" she asked again, looking at him.

"Fred, why'd you bring her?" she looked at the voice. George was sitting on the picnic blanket. The other Weasleys sat there too. Ron was sprawled out, eating some chips lazily, and Ginny sat next to George, seemingly just basking in the sun. And to her shock, Charlie was sitting with his siblings, eating a sandwich.

"Oh, Wotcher, Charlie," she smiled at the scarred redhead. "Whatchu doing here?" she added, walking over to sit on the blanket. Fred was attempting to justify bringing her to his twin.

"That's a secret," he said, putting a finger to his lips. Nikki raised an eyebrow.

"Does this have to do with the tournament?" she asked. Charlie shrugged, giving her a smile that clearly said _yes_. "Oh Merlin…what the hell could they need _dragons_ for?" she asked in horror.

"How'd you know it was dragons?" asked Ron, looking at her.

"Well, let's see, Ronald, you're brother _is_ a dragon tamer," she pointed out, rolling her eyes. "If he's here for the tournament, then its safe to assume that its because dragons are involved, right, Charlie?"

"I guess its safe to tell you, since you figured it out on your own," Charlie said with a smile. "The first task involves dragons, but that's really all I know." Nikki nodded, then began badgering him with all kinds of questions about what dragons they'd brought, their temperaments, and so on. Charlie just smiled and answered her questions. She had a feeling he was risking getting in trouble by telling her, but she couldn't help but not feel too guilty. This was something she had to do to protect Harry.

"Nikkikins, stop giving him the tenth degree," ordered George.

"I'm just doing my research, Georgey." Ron murmured something about her turning into Hermione. "But I'm done now," she leaned back into Fred, who wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Well, I've got a question for you, Nikki," Charlie said. Nikki looked him with an arched eyebrow. What could Charlie have to ask her. "Do you think Tonks would meet me for drinks at the Three Broomsticks tomorrow night?"

"You're brother's stuck on Dora," declared Nikki as she and Fred sat in the library. Fred was sitting next to her, grudgingly working on his potions essay. She had a feeling he thought she'd met a whole different thing when she'd asked him to come to the library with her.

"He loves her," Fred said simply, looking at her.

"He broke it off with her," Nikki reminded, remembering how crushed her cousin had been when she'd come home after Charlie had broken up with her. Tonks had loved Charlie, and thought they'd be together forever. Then he broke up with her.

"He did it because he loved her," declared Fred. "She wanted to be an Auror and he wanted to be a Dragon Tamer. He knew he couldn't be there for her like she needed him to be, and decided to break if off so she could find someone who could."

"If he truly loved her, he would have stayed," argued Nikki. "People do whatever they can to be with the one they loved." She looked at him. Fred moved closer quickly.

"What if, no matter how hard you tried, you knew being with the one you loved would just hurt them in the long run," he whispered, looking into her grey eyes with his narrowed hazel ones. She took a long breath threw her nose, trying to calm down. Gunpowder and cinnamon invaded her senses. Such a undeniable Fred scent. "What if you knew you couldn't give the person you loved the life they wanted without giving up everything you wanted? What if you knew it would make you grow to resent them?"

"Then you never loved them in the first place," she murmured. Fred paused, staring at her.

"What if we were in the same situation?" he asked.

"We won't ever have to worry about that," she declared. "I'm going to be a lawyer, and you're opening a joke shop. We aren't Charlie and Dora."

"I know we aren't…" Fred leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I love you, Nikki."


	9. Dreaded Curse

Nikki handled Fred saying he loved her the way any reasonable person would: she avoided him like the plague. It wasn't that she was disgusted at the prospect of him loving her. It actually made her happy, filling her stomach with butterflies and making her heart skip a beat every time she replied those three words in her head. It was just…they were only _16_. And they'd only been together a little while.

Okay, actually, seven months was a long time for a teenage romance. When she listened to her roommates talk about relationships, they were normally completely convinced that that they were completely in love by the end of the first month, and then they were over by the end of the second. From what she'd observed, _I love you_ was the dreaded curse the ended all teenage relationships, like how being hired as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher cursed one to misfortune. As soon as those three simple words were uttered, things became real. Things became intense. Things went bad.

Nikki didn't want that for her and Fred. She really cared about him. It was easy being with him. She felt happy with his arm around her, unlike with past boyfriends where she'd fight down the urge to push them away because they were invading her space. She didn't feel like he was smothering her. She liked that, and those blasted words could ruin it all! Now that they were said, things were going to get out of hand. Things would become way too intense and the light-hearted happiness their relationship brought her would be over. She didn't want that. She couldn't have that. So, she avoided him.

She avoided him like talking to him would kill her. She'd eaten all her meals at the Slytherin Table, and had taken George's normal seat next to Angelina in the classes they shared. The only time she'd come near the Gryffindor table was to talk to Harry. He'd done well in the first task, which Nikki had found herself not able to pay attention, which made her feel really guilty. What kind of god sister was she if she couldn't watch her god brother face possible death?

And now, that damned Yule Ball was coming up. She wasn't even sure if she'd be going at the moment. It sounded nice, but going would mean a date, and a date would mean she'd have to swallow her pride and talk to the boyfriend she'd been avoiding very well for almost two weeks. But first she need some kind of advice. Someone to tell her everything was alright.

It was a Hogsmeade weekend! She could floo her cousin and beg the girl to come earlier so they could talk. Yes, yes. That would work perfectly. All she had to do was avoid Fred, and thinking more than needed, until then. She ran down to the fireplace in the common room, and fire-called Tonks.

"Mm, wha' Nikki?" asked Tonks, looking at her sleepily. She must have just woken up from a nap.

"Um…are you off today?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah, why?" asked Tonks, looking suspiciously at her cousin.

"I need to talk to you. Do you think you could…come to Hogsmeade" she asked, looking down.

"Why don't we discuss it now?"

"Because I'm in the Slytherin Common room of course!" she exclaimed. "Please, Dora, please? I need some sisterly advice."

"You're not my sister," said Tonks jokingly. "But good as. Lemme get dressed and I'll meet you in the Three Broomsticks, okay?"

"Thanks, Dora!" she smiled and pulled her head out of the fire.

"Who were you calling?" Nikki turned around and smiled at Sera.

"Oh, just my cousin. I'm going to Hogsmeade today, do you want some Honeydukes candy?" she asked. Sera nodded vigorously, to the point where Nikki feared the girl would snap her head off.

"Okay, then I'll bring you back some," She patted the younger girl's head, then went up to her dorm to get her winter cloak before going to Hogsmeade.

"So what happened?" asked Tonks once they'd gotten situate in the Three Broomsticks.

"Um…well…" Nikki looked down into her butter beer. "Um…Fred…"

"What did he do?" Tonks asked. Nikki could hear concern in her voice.

"He said he loved me, Dora!" she blurted out. Tonks stared at her a moment, then laughed.

"Aw, Nikolyn, hasn't a boy ever said he loved you before?" she asked.

"No, Nymphadora, a boy hasn't ever said he loved me before!" Tonks looked taken aback.

"Seriously? I mean, teenagers say it all the time so…"

"Well, no one's ever said it to me!" she grumbled. "Till Fred, course."

"Do you love him?"

"I dunno!" Nikki sighed in exasperation. She let her head fall back on the back of her chair, sighing. "One minute we were talking about you and Charlie-"

"Why where you talking about me and Charlie?"

"Because we were, Dora!"

"What does me and Charlie have to do with you and Fred anyways?"

"Damnit, Nymphadora, would you just let me talk?"

"Fine, fine, get talking, Nikolyn."

"So, we were talking about you and Charlie-"

"Which you shouldn't have been."

"Nymphadora Druella Tonks, shut up now!"

"Did you just use my full name, Nikolyn Dorea Black?"

"Did you just use mine?"

"Only because you used mine."

"Do we always have to bicker when we meet up?" She closed her eyes, sighing. This advice thing wasn't going the way she'd intended. Then again, this was her and Tonks. They bickered sometimes, but it was all fun. Tonks would get bored of it very soon, and start being helpful. She started to say something to her cousin, when a set of lips cut her off. The scent of gunpowder filled her nose, and her mind automatically went to Fred. But something didn't feel right. This kiss didn't make her feel relaxed and happy like Fred's normal kisses. To be exact, this kiss kind of pissed of off. She opened her eyes, and realized why.

"GEORGE WEASLEY!" She screamed, pushing him away. George stumbled back, wiping his mouth and looking disgusted. "What the bloody hell!"

"Did that do anything for you?" asked the younger twin, taking _her_ butter beer and drinking some.

"Other than make me want to hex your bits off? No!" she glared at him. "Why the fuck did you do that, you ruddy Weasel!" George started to explain, but a fist came in contact with his jaw. George flew against the table, running his jaw.

"The hell, mate!" exclaimed George, "I told you, I was gonna do something to make Nikki stop avoiding you!"

"So kissing my girlfriend was you're genius idea!" yelled Fred, fists clenched.

"Trust me when I say I didn't enjoy that, Fred!"

"Hey! You're the one who kissed me, git!" Nikki chided in.

"To prove a ruddy point!" George, rubbed his jaw where Fred had hit. "Nikki, did that kiss do anything for you?"

"Like I said, other than making me wanna hex your bits off, no!"

"So stop avoiding my brother and tell him you love him too!"

"What the hell! Did someone put some firewhiskey in your butter beer?" She demanded, looking at Fred.

"So…you kissed her…to prove to her she loved me?" asked Fred, looking at his twin.

"Yeah. I'd never make a move on your girlfriend unless it was for your own good!"

"I don't get you! How does _kissing_ me make me realize I love your brother!"

"Fred and I are physically exactly the same, so if it was an infatuation, kissing me would have been the same as kissing him," explained George. "Now, I'm gonna go back to the castle and disinfect my mouth. Make up, or I'll kick your ass, Black." With that, George walked away.

"This is gonna be a great story for Charlie tonight," declared Tonks, smirking at Nikki.

"Shut up, Tonks…" she sighed, not looking at Fred, even though he was boring holes in her head. He reached forward and took her hand.

"I'm sorry he did that, Nikki," he mumbled. "I was just…I guess he was sit of me moping around in our dorm…" Nikki felt a little guilty. He'd been moping?

"Its okay, Fred," she looked up and smiled at him. "At least now I know which brother is the better kisser." Fred smirked.

"And who would that be?"

"You, of course." She leaned up and kissed Fred. Maybe it was okay that Fred had said he loved her? It didn't seem like things would be so bad. Maybe they would be different than most teenage relationships? Maybe things would stay the same, even with those three words spoken.


End file.
